Eight anti-war demonstrators remanded in custody after being charged in connection with a protest at the Derry offices of a US missile manufacturer were granted bail in the Northern Ireland High Court today.
Stringent conditions were imposed by Mr Justice Morgan after prosecutors said damage to the offices of Raytheon amounted to £350,000.
Éamon McCann at Derry magistrates court yesterday
The men appeared in Derry Magistrates Court yesterday charged with aggravated burglary with intent to do unlawful damage and a second charge of unlawful assembly. The eight, together with a ninth man who did not seek bail, were remanded to Magilligan prison from where they appeared by video link at the High Court.
The charges followed a protest at the Raytheon Software Centre on Wednesday. The offices were occupied for eight hours by anti-war demonstrators before police forced their way in and arrested the nine.
Naomh Lavery, for the Crown, told the court: "The protesters carrying placards identifying themselves as the Derry Anti-War Coalition staged a protest outside the Raytheon offices. Members of the crowd confronted two security guards who were punched and kicked".
"They smashed through doors with a crowbar they had brought with them and made their way to a first floor office occupied by Raytheon," she said. "Three members of staff in the office were ordered to leave and the group barricaded themselves inside."
She said during an eight hour stand-off, office equipment and computers were damaged or thrown out of the windows. A mainframe computer suffered £150,000 of damage and the total damage was in the region of £350,000.
She said after being arrested by police, all nine people read out a statement at the start of their interviews in which, she said, they attempted to justify their actions.
Those charged included veteran socialist and journalist Éamon McCann (63).
The others, who like Mr McCann live in Derry, were James Kelly (45) Colm Bryce (40) Kieran Gallagher (45) Micheal Gallagher (27) Patrick McDaid (36) Gary Donnelly (36) and Sean Heaton, (34).
The ninth man Eamon O'Donnell, who was charged alongside them, did not seek bail.
Defending the eight, Joe Brolly said there had been a meeting last Monday of the Derry Anti-War Coalition at which it was agreed they would hold a peaceful protest and that clear guidelines had been laid down.